Jordan: Building a green economy tapping into natural advantages and developing clean technologies.

Jordan imports 96% of its energy needs which accounts for 20% of GDP.

Due to both economic and population growth, demand for electricity has been and is growing steadily at an annual rate of 10%.

The Jordanian government and the private sector joined forces in order to offset dependence on imported energy, capitalizing on unconventional resources.

This also coincided with the rising trend of green consumers and environmentalists in the country.

The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MEMR) crafted the National Energy Strategy (2007-2020) to implement ways to develop conventional, renewable and alternative resources- wind, solar, oil shale and nuclear.

Expected investments in the sector are around $1.4 – 2.1 billion through 2020.

Contribution of the renewable energy to the energy mix is set to rise from 1% in 2007 to reach 7% by 2015 and 10% by 2020.

Renewable energy generation will be composed of: 600 – 1000 MW from Wind, and 300– 600 MW from Solar and 30 – 50 MW from Waste.

In 2009, a partnership between the Government and private sector leaders in Energy, Water and Environment created the EDAMA initiative, supported by USAID, to contribute to policy making and shaping of the sector during its early stages.

EDAMA aims to develop innovative solutions to drive research collaboration, business creation, and investment, establishing Jordan as a leader in solutions for energy, water, and environmental productivity.